Spreading the Ashes
by madaline-7
Summary: AU Team Fic. Post Continuum. Rated T for some language, whumpage, and Character Death. SG1 gets caught, what happened when they tried to get home.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first real shot at a team story. It's AU, and takes place after SGA Search and Rescue and Continuum. **Slight spoiler for Continuum in Chapters Two and Three.** J/S ship and D/V ship, but this is not a shippy story. I just thought I would warn you.

As always… a very big thanks to my beta Slidell.

--

It had been years since Teal'c had found himself on the other side of a SGC interrogation table. He knew this was procedure. This was something that the IOA did to make themselves more comfortable. But now, right at this minute, all he wanted was to be in the infirmary to see if she would pull through. He wanted to mourn the fallen, to honor them for the great warriors that they were. He did not want to sit here, in this room, and answer questions… questions for which he had no answers.

He closed his eyes, and collected his thoughts. He just hoped that this would not take too long. He needed to talk to Dr. Lam and find out if she was going to pull through. He suddenly found himself doing something he had grown more accustom too while being here on Earth, with them, he started to hope against the impossible.

There was no doubt however, even if she did pull through, even if she did survive, that it wouldn't be enough to keep him there. No, his mind was already made up, and he would return to Dakkara and serve the Free Jaffa Nation. He would educate the young on what the people of this planet did to help free them. That is how he would honor the dead. That is how he would honor his family.

There was a knock at the door, and Dr. Lam poked her head inside. "Teal'c" she started. "If you want to say goodbye…now is the time." She paused. "I'm afraid," her voice broke, "this is it." He stood, and followed the doctor out of the small room glaring at the guards that were standing outside the door. He followed Lam to the infirmary.

She looked small there, laying in the hospital bed, tubes and wires connecting her to the machines that, for now, were helping her live. He went to her bedside, and she looked up at him. He grabbed her hand to try and display some sort of comfort to her.

"She refused pain medication until she could talk to you." He heard Dr. Lam say in the background.

Her eyes were open, and he could tell that she was in agony. He nodded to her.

"That is most unwise."

"I need to know what happened." Her voice was raspy.

"They are all dead. You and I are the only ones who have survived."

She blinked hard, and looked him in the eyes. She had become so serious. "Tell me how."

The monitors that were attached to her body started to beep. Dr. Lam came over with a syringe to inject it into her I.V.

"No." She said with as much strength as she could muster. "Not yet. Please doctor."

Dr. Lam turned her attention toward Teal'c. "She doesn't have much time. Don't let her suffer."

He nodded in acceptance, and turned his eyes back towards the woman who lay dying on the bed in front of him.

"Tell me." Her eyes were pleading with him.

He started to speak when she took a sharp breath, and pain crossed her face.

"Vala Mal Doran," he started. "It was an honor to stand beside you in battle. You will die a hero."

Dr. Lam injected the medicine into the I.V. and Vala closed her eyes. A small smile pulling at her mouth, before the monitor's beeping became a steady hum, indicating that her heart had stopped.

"I'm sorry Teal'c." Dr. Lam said, placing her hand on his shoulder, and giving it a small squeeze. She turned and walked away, leaving him alone with that last member of his Earth family.

He stood there looking at her, until her body grew cold with death. He was thinking of all that they had done; all that they had accomplished together. On the outside he was stoic as ever. No one could tell that he was also in a great deal of pain. Not the physical kind, but the internal, emotional kind.

Never in all his years as serving as a First Prime, did he see carnage as he did on this last mission. Never in all his years battling with the Taur'i did he witness the bloodshed as he had witnessed now. Never had he lost as much as he had this day.

General Landry's shouting interrupted his thoughts. "You will not interrogate him like he is some sort of criminal! We will wait for his full mission report like we always have."

"He left the interrogation room." The unfamiliar female voice hissed back at him. "Tell me why he would do that if he didn't have something to hide!"

They stopped in the doorway of the infirmary. Teal'c slowly pulled his eyes away from Vala, and looked at them. He was afraid to speak, he was sure that his voice would betray him.

"He's right here, saying goodbye to a friend." General Landry said softly to the woman that accompanied him. "Let him have _that_ much."

Teal'c looked down at Vala one last time, and slowly made his way toward the door. "She is gone, General Landry."

"I'm sorry, Teal'c." General Landry said, his voice heavy.

"Well then, shall we?" The woman spoke, and made a gesture with her hand for Teal'c to move on.

"I thought I told you," General Landry started, but she cut him off.

"This is an official IOA investigation, General. You do not tell _me_ anything." She growled at him. "After you Teal'c." She was wearing a small tight smile.

Teal'c started down the hallway, back towards the room he had left earlier. He was going to have to explain why his friends had died. He was going to explain all of this to a woman who would not believe what he had to say. A woman who seemed to blame him, more than he already blamed himself, as if that was possible.

He took a seat at the table, and she sat down across from him.

"My name is Diane Greenfield. I am the IOA agent assigned to the SGC." She said as she was setting up a tape recorder. She pulled a small remote from her pocket, and pushed a button. He turned his head ever so slightly, and saw the red light indicating that a video recording was also taking place. She smiled the same small tight smile at him that she had given in the hallway. She pressed the record button on the tape recorder, and leaned back in her chair.

"Let's begin, shall we?" She said. Her voice was as tight as the smile on her face. "Please state your name for the official record."

"Teal'c" he paused and then added "of the Taur'i."

She made an audible breath, and for a split second he took her off-guard. He was sure that was the only time that would happen during this interview.

"Yes," she started, clearing her throat, "According to your debriefing report," she said, opening a file that she had in front of her, "SG-1 was ambushed while making their way back to the Stargate."

"That is correct."

"How?"

"We were overtaken by Ba'al's forces."

"How is that possible?" She raised her eyebrows at him.

He sat there unmoving, saying nothing to her.

"Teal'c," Her voice grew warmer and took on a softer tone. "I need to know what exactly happened. A minute by minute account would be nice. People need to know what happened there. Not only the IOA, and the American government," she paused, and looked directly at him, "but also the governments of this world."

His mind flashed to see Colonel Carter lying on the ground, blood oozing from her mouth.

"Go!" She yelled at him. "Get out of here!"

"I will not leave you!"

"Teal'c! Get out of here! Get to the Stargate and get home!"

The drumming of Diane Greenfield's fingers on the tabletop brought him back to the present. She was starring at him with a look of impatience on her face.

He collected his thoughts before he spoke again. "What exactly do you wish to know?"

She sighed hard. "Everything Teal'c. I need to know everything."

"Very well." He nodded to her. "We had received information that Ba'al was creating a version of super solider, not unlike those used by Anubis. We went to the planet to see that he did not succeed."

--

I know this isn't what I usually write… but what can I say? My muse decided this was next.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:** Very Small Continuum Spoiler in this chapter.**

--

"Unscheduled off-world activation." Walter's voice rang through the communication system. "Received IDC, It is Bra'tac" He spoke to General Landry, who had come to see who was gating to Earth.

"Open the iris." General Landry ordered as he made his way down to the gate room.

"Welcome Master Bra'tac. To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I wish that is was a friendly visit." Bra'tac began as he started down the ramp. "However, I have grave news."

General Landry walked him to the briefing room, telling Walter to page SG-1 immediately.

After they were assembled, Bra'tac started on the reason for his visit. A few planets under the control of the Free Jaffa Nation had reported doing battle with Anubis's super soldiers. These planets were on the outskirts of their territory. When they investigated further, they realized that they were not quite the same type of solider used by Anubis. The only other System Lord that had a grasp of that kind of technology was Ba'al.

"But the last Ba'al clone was extracted." Cameron said. "I was there. It was my first extraction."

"My Brothers tell me it is, in fact, Ba'al." Bra'tac answered him. "There still may be more clones."

Cameron blew out a long breath, which seemed to sum up the tone of the room. "Mistake?" He asked no one in particular.

"Do you know where they are being manufactured?" Daniel asked.

"I do." Bra'tac responded. "It is a planet that was abandoned long ago by Nirti."

Sam and Teal'c looked at each other. They remembered Nirti's Hell; very well.

"Sir," Sam started, "If this is true…"

General Landry cut her off. "How soon can SG-1 be ready?"

--

As Walter was dialing the gate, General Landry was standing in the gate room with SG-1. "This is a recon-only mission. Under no circumstances are you to engage the enemy. We will only have a small window of surprise. We don't want to blow it now."

"Understood, Sir." Cameron replied.

The wormhole engaged, and SG-1 stepped through. Little did they know that this mission was going to be one of their last.

--

"Looks like Ba'al has been doing some remodeling." Cameron said as they arrived on the planet.

"Indeed, Colonel Mitchell." Teal'c replied.

The air was thick and smelled like the major industrial areas on Earth. There was also a metallic taste to the air, and it was slightly burning their eyes.

Sam already had out a device that was measuring air quality. "It's safe to breath. But I wouldn't want to do it for too long."

They split up, as they always did when they were exploring enemy territory. Cameron, Teal'c and Sam made their way to the complex, while Daniel and Vala stayed to cover the gate. This was nothing new to them. They moved like a well-oiled machine, often anticipating each other's movements.

That is why they were the flagship team.

There was one Jaffa standing guard to the entrance of the complex. Once he was shot with a zat, Cameron, Teal'c and Sam were inside.

"This way." Sam said, as she led them down to the holding chambers that used to house Nirti's experiments.

When they reached the lower levels of the facility, they were greeted by a horrific smell that made Cameron gag. They could see where the holding cages had been modified. Instead of being cells, Ba'al had transformed them into stasis pods of sorts.

There was a force field around each cage, which held four chambers each. Inside the chambers, there were creations, in various forms of development.

"This must be where he grows them." Cameron muttered under his breath.

Sam had walked to a small technological set up, and was pulling things up on it. "It seems as if he had been at this for a while. He put it on hold when the Ori were invading, but he started again once he lost Adria."

"Figured he needed a battle force of his own." Cameron responded.

Sam configured her laptop into the technology center. She was going to download everything she could.

They heard a small noise right outside of the door, and instantly they were all at attention.

"How much longer Sam?" Cameron asked hurriedly, his P-90 aimed directly towards where the sound had come from.

"I don't know. There is a lot of information here. I just need a few more minutes, and I'll have the basics. The rest is gravy."

"I doubt we have a few more minutes." Cameron responded, never taking his eyes off of the looming threat.

"There. Done. Got it." She said as she snapped her laptop closed, and shoved it back into her pack, aiming her P-90 as well.

As they started towards the door, it opened, and two Jaffa stood in their way. The three members of SG-1 opened fire, and caught them by surprise. The Jaffa didn't know what hit them as they fell to the ground.

They made their way out of the complex, and Cameron radioed Daniel to start dialing the gate. They had no idea if anymore Jaffa were roaming around, and they really didn't want to find out.

By the time they made their way to Daniel and Vala, the wormhole was engaged, and they proceeded through, safely back to Earth.

"SG-1," Landry said as he greeted them. "Welcome home. How did it go?"

"Well Sir, it's worse than what Bra'tac had led us to believe."

-o-o-o-

IOA agent Greenfield help up a finger to Teal'c, motioning him to stop. She stood up and stretched. She walked over to the door, and knocked. She asked the Guard to bring her some water. This was going to be a lot longer than she thought.

"This is all in the official report." She said, "What I want to know is what happened this last time. Why all of SG-1 is dead, except for you. The one lone Ex-First Prime Jaffa." Her voice was dripping with venom.

Teal's stared at the woman. "They are dead because I could not save them."

Her mouth dropped open a slight degree before she regained her composure. "Excuse me?"

"I could not save SG-1. Their deaths are on my hands." He clasped his hands and placed them on the table in front of them.

"So you admit that you are responsible."

"I am."

She looked at him, disbelief in her eyes. "I didn't expect you to so readily admit your guilt. I just have one more question. Why, after all these years did you betray us?"

"I betrayed no one."

"You just said that you are responsible for their deaths."

The door to the interrogation room suddenly opened with such force, that it hit the concrete wall behind it. Anger and sorrow flooded the room. Teal'c and the woman from the IOA turned to see who had come, and what they saw astonished them both.

The two guards that had been assigned to cover the door were holding one retired Major General, forbidding him entrance to the room. It was none other than Jack O'Neill.

--

TBC

Uh… well?


	3. Chapter 3

"General, you can't go in there!" One of the guards said, holding back Jack's arm and upper chest. The other guard had Jack's other arm and his waist. They were struggling to keep him from breaking the threshold of the doorway.

"It's okay." Diane Greenfield spoke up. "Let him in."

When the guards released Jack, he stumbled forward and had to take a large step to catch his balance.

Ms. Greenfield looked to Teal'c, and said, "He's been listening the entire time," a smirk slowly unfolding across her face. When she turned her attention back to Jack, she noticed that she had his full attention.

"You idiot! Of course T blames himself!" He screamed at her. "They were as much his family as his own blood!"

Anger was ebbing off of Jack like the sun reflected off of his pond. "How dare you try to get him to confess to something that wasn't his fault!" He spat at her.

Jack turned and looked at Teal'c.

"I am deeply sorry that I was unable to save Colonel Carter." Teal'c said, casting his eyes to the floor, hanging his head in defeat.

Suddenly the room went quiet. Not even the electronic devises made a stitch of noise. No one said anything for what seemed like hours, but in all reality it was only a few minutes.

"I know." Jack finally said. His voice was soft, he had finally realized that she was not coming home to him.

"T?"

"Yes, O'Neill?" He said, looking up to Jack.

"What the hell happened back there?" There was a look of desperation in his eyes, one that was searching for the answers. A look that told Teal'c that Jack could handle the truth.

-o-o-o-

18 hours after SG-1 had returned from Ba'al's complex, Sam called a meeting to explain what she had been able to download from the creation room.

Ba'al was only a few steps away from creating the amour that Anubis had shielded his super soldiers with.

"But we have a gun to stop that." Cameron said. "So what is the problem?"

"The problem is, it was only a prototype, and when Anubis's forces stopped, we didn't feel it necessary to continue. See, the armor is not just armor, it is in synch with the mind of the controller."

"So when Oma started to fight with Anubis," Daniel picked up, "He lost his concentration over the soldiers, and they faltered and then they stopped completely."

"And they were able to be destroyed." Teal'c finished.

Cameron dropped his head into his hands, and then looked back up at his team. "So we have nothing to stop them?"

"I have already put a call into R&D at Area 51 to have the prototype brought here." General Landry said.

"But sir," Sam continued, "That isn't our only problem. Ba'al has cloned himself again. And this time, we are not sure how many clones are out there."

"I thought the Asgard said that cloning a bunch of times will eventually screw up enough DNA that more clones are impossible." Cameron said.

"Yes, but the problem with the Asgard was that they were cloning clones. Ba'al is cloning himself. Think of a clone like photocopy. The more you make copies of the photocopy, the more distorted the image becomes." Sam explained. "But when you make a photocopy of an original…"

"It comes out clear." Cameron finished her sentence. "The Asgard were making copies of copies."

"Exactly."

"Which means the Ba'al that was extracted wasn't the original Ba'al?"

"Yes."

The briefing room was quiet.

"So what do we do?" Vala asked.

Sam looked around the room to each and every person there before she spoke. "I don't know."

"What if we blow up the complex where he is dumping out these guys?" Cameron asked.

"That would only be a stop gap measure." Sam said.

"It's better than sitting around doing nothing!"

"Yes, but Cameron, we don't know if Ba'al knows… we know." Sam looked to Daniel and then to Teal'c.

"So there is still the possibility that we have the upper hand here." General Landry stated. "We can use this to our advantage."

"I will contact the Jaffa Counsel and see if they have gathered anymore information." Teal'c said, rising from the table.

"And we'll contact the Tok'ra. If Ba'al is still out there and wanting to make a mess of things, they most certainly know about it." General Landry said. "We have to figure out a way to stop this, and stop it now. Dismissed."

--

They all assembled in the briefing room five hours later when Teal'c returned from Dakkara.

"Several of our outlying colonies have fallen to Ba'al's forces. When they stand united before this false god, Ba'al unleashes his new army."

"How many is it now, Teal'c?" Vala asked.

"Thirteen planets as of this morning."

"Well, the Tok'ra were no help." Daniel said, anger touching the corners of his words. "They insist that our information is _wrong_."

"I still say we should blow up the one compound we know about. We should let him know that we know." Cameron said.

"But Cameron; that is tipping our hand when we don't have enough information." Sam said.

"I am starting to agree with Mitchell on this." Landry said. "We should send a definite message that this is not going to be tolerated."

"Sir. We are just going to send him underground." Sam said.

"I agree with Sam on this." Daniel continued. "We don't know even if that was a main complex or if it was just an off shoot. And if his main compound is somewhere else…"

General Landry interrupted him. "Right now people, I don't see any other choice. If we take out this factory with enough force, it may just be what Ba'al needs to think twice about continuing what he is doing. I will give you eight hours to come up with something else. If not, we will proceed with this plan. Dismissed."

General Landry stood, and slowly shook his head as he walked into his office. The rest of SG-1 was still in the briefing room, sitting in shocked silence. Even though it was Cameron's idea, he was still surprised by the General's approval.

"If you can some up with something better," Cameron started, looking at the rest of the team, "I'm all ears."

"But I thought you wanted to blow it up?" Vala asked.

"Blowing things up is just so over done." He flashed them all a smile, and left the briefing room.

-o-o-o-

"Yes, yes. We know all of this." Diane Greenfield said, tapping her fingers impatiently against the top the table again. "This is all in the official report."

Teal'c looked towards Jack. He was in full solider mode, his spine straight, his face became a mask that he could not read. Jack nodded slightly towards him.

"Go on T."

"Excuse me. But you even being here is a privilege. You shouldn't be. You are no longer part of the Stargate Program."

Jack ignored her, and focused his entire being on Teal'c. "Go on T. What happened next?"

--

TBC

Thank you so much for your reviews and subscriptions. They mean a lot to me.


	4. Chapter 4

The weapon that Sam and Jacob had been working on was brought to Sam's lab. She and Dr. Lee began to work with it immediately. They had one main objective, they were trying to make the power cell last longer. Secondary to this was making the radius blast of the weapon more efficient so that it would no longer require a direct shot.

Sam looked at the clock, and threw her hands up in frustration. "Bill! This isn't going to work!"

He stepped back from the lab table and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "It will. We just have to think objectively. I know you are running out of time, but getting as frustrated as you are right now isn't going to help."

Sam sighed hard. "I know Bill. I do. It's just I think this is… a wasted effort." She turned and looked at him. "I'm going to go and make a phone call, and get something to drink. Do you want me to bring you back anything?"

"No, but thank you." He said.

She was half way to the door, when he spoke up again. "What if we cross the primary conductor with its relay."

"It will cause it to implode." She said, turning around to him.

"But what if we were able to harness the power, to fuel the power cell?" Dr. Lee said to her, his eyes hopeful. We'll get this to work yet!" A child-like grin lit up his eyes. "I'll start working on the calculations. I'll see you when you get back."

When Sam returned, she helped Dr. Lee work on even more calculations. They were feverishly plugging away, when Cameron interrupted them.

"Come on Sam. Time's up. We have to get ready."

"I'll have this running by the time you return." Dr. Lee said; his mind still involved in the mathematics.

Sam smiled a small smile at Dr. Lee. "Yeah, I think we're going to need it."

-o-o-o-

When SG-1 and SG-7 arrived on the planet, it was night. SG-7 stayed back to cover the gate, as SG-1 moved towards the complex where Ba'al had set up his operation. They met little resistance.

"Uh, guys?" Daniel asked. "Didn't you say there were Jaffa guarding the place?"

"Yeah, so?" Cameron responded.

"Where are they?"

"I don't know, and I don't care, Jackson. Let's just get this done."

They moved easily through the hallways to the stasis room, when their radios sprung to life.

"Colonel Mitchell, we are under attack. We have lost the gate!" Colonel Freeman, the leader of SG-7, told them.

"Let's get this done people!" Cameron said to his team. With that, they removed the C4 packs that they had brought with them, and started to place them around the critical areas of the chamber.

No one saw the Goa'uld shock grenade that was rolled into the room until it was too late. A blinding white light was the last thing that they remembered.

-o-o-o-

"When we regained consciousness, we found ourselves aboard one of Ba'al's ships." Teal'c told his audience. "Colonel Mitchell, Vala Mal Doran and myself. Daniel Jackson and Colonel Carter were not with us. They were brought into our cell later." His voice dropped. To anyone else, it was the same tone, but Jack could hear the difference.

"What was their condition?" Ms. Greenfield asked.

Teal'c turned his head to look at her. "They had been tortured."

Jack, even with all of his years of military training, shuttered.

"And then what?" The only female voice in the room asked.

Teal'c was still looking at her, and it was starting to become unnerving. "Ba'al's Jaffa took Colonel Mitchell and Vala Mal Doran."

"But not you?" Her tone was skeptical. "Tell me. Why do you think that is?"

"Ba'al was trying to get the information he was seeking from the others." His tone was certain and unwavering. "Colonel Carter, Daniel Jackson and myself made a plan to escape."

"Wait." Ms. Greenfield interrupted him again. "How were they tortured?"

Jack looked at her. "They were, ok?"

"The IOA needs to know."

Teal'c looked at Jack before continuing. "I believe that Ba'al used various forms of acid to penetrate their skin…"

"For cryin' out loud! They were tortured ok!?" A mix of impatience and anger rolled off of Jack's words.

The shock of those words made the silence that now followed even more perverse.

Diane Greenfield was the first one to speak. "General, I understand that this is hard for you, considering the circumstances. However, the IOA as assigned me to find out exactly what happened to SG-1. To do that, we need to know everything."

"I need a break." Jack stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. "T. You comin'?"

"O'Neill. Perhaps I should speak of this without you."

Jack nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah." He then looked at Ms. Greenfield. "Do you think you can discuss all of this in say a half and hour?"

"It will take as long as it takes General." She said curtly.

Jack turned and walked out of the room.

"What's his problem?" She muttered barely under her breath.

"O'Neill was also tortured by Ba'al."

She looked at him, trying to hide the surprise in her eyes. "Yes. I knew that. Now, please continue."

-o-o-o-

Carter found Ba'al's hand across her face again. This time he split her lip. Her tongue instinctively went to it. She tasted her own blood.

"You will tell me what I want to know."

"Not a chance." She spat at him.

This time Ba'al's fist came crashing down into her face. She felt a pop, and then wetness trickling down from her nose.

"I can do this for hours, and I guarantee you Samantha, I will outlast you." He took his finger and slid it down the side of her face.

Every part of her wanted to grimace, to pull away from his touch, but she held her ground. Ba'al walked over to a table that was the resting place for several different bottles, all different shapes and containing all sorts of different colors of liquid.

"Do you think you are stronger that General O'Neill?" He asked her. "Because my dear Samantha, I broke him. I could see it in his eyes. Do you know what it is like to push someone past their limits, where they would do anything not to feel pain anymore?" Ba'al was playing with the crystal stopper in one of the bottles. He stopped and looked at her. A slow, steady smile spread across his face, as he pulled it from the bottle.

He started to tip the bottle so just a drop would be pulled into the gravity well that she was being held against. A drop landed on her clothes, and then started to work its way into her skin.

Carter fought with everything she had in her, however a low moan escaped her lips.

"Now tell me, and I can make all of this stop." Ba'al said as he released another drop.

"Go. To. Hell."

"I thought you might say that." The smile was still plastered on his face as he tipped the bottle towards her.

-o-o-o-

"Jack." General Landry said, as he spied him in the cafeteria.

"Hank."

General Landry took a seat across from Jack.

"Thanks for bringing me in on this." Jack said.

"It was against my better judgement."

"I just need to know what happened to… h… them."

"Jack. Are you sure you really want to?"

"They were my team for a lot of years Hank."

"You should go home and grieve." General Landry told his friend.

"I will Hank. I will. But I…" Jack's voice trailed off. "After this is all done. After I know that those IOA bastards aren't going to try and pin this on T."

"I am making sure of that myself Jack."

"I know you are. It's just…"

General Landry nodded his head in agreement. "I know Jack. I know. And to tell you the truth, I hated calling her back so soon. I did. But…"

"Duty called." Jack finished his sentence for him.

"Yeah."

"If there is anything I can do. I can help make arrangements or something…"

"Thanks Hank. I appreciate that. But right now, I just want to get through this."

"Did you call her brother?"

"Not yet. I will though."

General Landry stood up to leave. "I'm serious Jack. If there is anything I can do."

"I'll let you know."

--

"What were the extent of Colonel Carter and Dr. Jackson's injuries?"

"Daniel Jackson said that Ba'al had brought them to the edge of death, then used a sarcophagus to heal them."

"Were Colonel Mitchell and Ms. Mal Doran also healed this way?"

"Yes."

"How did you escape?"

"We over powered the Jaffa that brought Colonel Mitchell and Vala Mal Doran back to our cell."

"And you were able to escape?"

"For a short time."

"For a short time?"

"They were recaptured before we could get off of Ba'al's ship."

--

TBC

Thoughts? Comments? You know where to leave them.


	5. Chapter 5

Mitchell spat. The hard things that he had felt rolling in his mouth were his teeth. He looked down to where they had landed. They were pink in color, lying in the puddle of blood that had just come from his mouth.

"That was foolish." Ba'al said to him. "Now, you have made me angry."

"Honestly, what do you expect us to do?" Mitchell started to laugh. "Seriously? Just sit around until it was our turn for your demented merry-go-round again?"

Mitchell felt the sharp pain in his side before he actually saw Ba'al draw a knife and plunge it into his side.

"I don't remember this being part of the ride." Mitchell said gasping for air.

"I am growing tired of this." Ba'al said quietly, leaning into Mitchell so he could speak into his ear. "I am growing tired of you." He whispered to Mitchell, as he continued to turn the blade.

"I'm… not… so… fond… of… it… myself." Mitchell was barely able to get the words out. There was pressure along with pain entering his chest. He could feel warmth trickling down the side where Ba'al had stabbed him.

"Tell me what I want to know, and I will heal you." Ba'al's voice was sickly sweet in Mitchell's ear. "All you have to do is tell me, and all this will end."

Ba'al took a step back to look at Mitchell. His head was hanging low. Mitchell was fighting against the pain. He couldn't. He would rather die, then give Ba'al the secrets for which he was asking.

It took all of Mitchell's strength to pull his head up from his chest. "Fine. I'll… tell… you." Even breathing was making the black dots that floated in front of his eyes grow in size. "It's…nutmeg. The… secret… to…" Mitchell took a breath, and now bright light streamed across his vision. "Grandma's… macaroons… is… nutmeg."

Mitchell took one last breath, and shuttered as his body finally gave up.

"Do you wish for us to put him in the sarcophagus, My Lord?" One of Ba'al's jaffa asked.

"No. Take him back to the cell. Let this serve as their warning that I am done playing these silly little games." Ba'al spat at him. "Have you found the shol'va?"

"Not yet, My Lord."

Ba'al's hand went across the jaffa's face. "Find Teal'c." He growled.

-o-o-o-

"There is something I don't understand." Ms. Greenfield said. "What about your Tretonin?"

"Ba'al was holding it."

"Then you were weak." She said, a look of smugness on her face.

"I was starting to require my next injection."

"So how did you get it?"

"I took it from Ba'al."

"And how exactly did you do that?" She asked him.

"Ba'al was unaware of my condition. He too, thought I was weak. I took his guards by surprise, and acquired my Tretonin."

"You are telling me that Ba'al just let you walk around his ship?"

"I was not detected." Teal'c said matter-of-factly. "I was unaware of Colonel Mitchell's death, until I went to free them."

"So, what you are saying is SG-1 escaped, and everyone but you were recaptured?"

Teal'c nodded his head in agreement.

"How convenient for you."

He looked at her, and raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner. "I do not understand Diane Greenfield." He started.

"Of course you don't." She said, her voice ringing with sarcasm. "I'm just saying it was extremely lucky for you not to be recaptured. Not Colonel Carter, or Colonel Mitchell, Hell not even that other alien. But… you."

The questioning nature of Teal'c's gaze turned murderous. "I went back to the cell that was holding SG-1." He said almost growling the words to her. "I freed the rest of the team, and even in their various stages of injury, we stole away on the ship until it landed."

There was a knock at the door, and Jack walked in. Teal'c never broke the gaze away from the IOA agent who was now muttering under breath. Jack took a seat in the chair that he had previously occupied.

"You said that you had freed them." Ms. Greenfield sighed.

-o-o-o-

Both of Vala's eyes were blackened. Her nose was too big for her features; it had nearly tripled in size. Her left arm was being held in front of her in a make shift sling. Daniel's eyes were also blackened, and he had various other cuts and scraps on his face. There was a make shift bandage around both of his upper thighs. However, Carter's injuries were the most severe between the three of them.

She had a long gash from the top of her head that ended at her chin. It had already scabbed over, which just made it look far more macabre. She was sure it wasn't too deep, but deep enough to leave a scar. Not unlike Mitchell, Ba'al's acid was used without the aid of the sarcophagus. It left a ragged hole in her right shoulder. The edges were rough, swollen and hot to the touch. An infection had set in. She also had a similar hole in her right calf. That one was also infected. It was hard for her to put weight on it. But she stayed on her feet, pushing herself to stay upright.

The decision had been made that when a guard came for one of them, they would rush him. It had worked before, and now in their weakened state, they were sure that Ba'al would underestimate them. They would then find Teal'c and get the hell out of there. They knew they could do it. _They knew they had to do it_. If not, they would die at Ba'al's hand just like Colonel Mitchell had.

When the door to their cell opened, the three of them lunged towards the figure standing there. It took a minute for them to realize that it was in fact Teal'c.

"This way." Teal'c said to them, pointing them towards a small ventilation shaft.

"Cameron is dead." Vala uttered. Daniel grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the cell.

"I felt the ship drop out of hyper space." Carter said, as she climbed into shaft, gingerly putting weight on her injured shoulder.

"Indeed it has Colonel Carter."

"That means we should be landing soon." Daniel said, climbing in behind Carter.

"Muscles." Vala just looked at him, tears brimming in her injured eyes.

Teal'c nodded once to her, and the climbed into the shaft after Daniel. She scooted on her back. There was no way that her injured arm could take her weight. Teal'c followed the behind and closed the grate behind him.

--

"My Lord, the prisoners are gone." The jaffa said, bowing his head.

"What do you mean they are gone?" Ba'al shouted angrily.

"They have escaped."

"FIND THEM!"

-o-o-o-

Diane Greenfield was distracted. She was having a hard time concentrating on the conversation, due to the buzzing of her cell phone in her pocket. She shifted in her seat, trying to silence it to no avail. She held up one finger to silence the conversation, and pulled the phone from her pocket. She looked at the read out, and sighed. "Excuse me a moment gentlemen."

She stood from her seat, and flipped open her phone. "Greenfield." She said as knocked on the door to the interrogation room. It was opened and she walked outside.

"I wanted to check on your progress Diane."

"Everything is going fine, sir."

"I know you asked for the SGC," the voice on the other end said, "but I also know that not only your temper, but your lack of experience can get the better of you."

"Everything is under control."

"Diane. Do not let them sway you."

"It's not going to happen." She said bitterly into the phone.

"Good. That's very good." There was a pause. "Will Teal'c be sitting in a cell in Area 51?"

"If I have anything to say about it."

"Diane. You have all the say about it."

Her line then went dead.

--

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

"I was able to lead Colonel Carter to an information terminal that was able to give us our precise location on the ship. Once she had established that we were indeed on a planet, and that a Stargate was available, we proceeded to leave, and make our way to the Stargate.

The ship had landed in what resembled the Grand Canyon here on Earth. Sheer cliffs rose up around us, and there were caverns and shallow caves lining the path to the top. I was able to acquire a few weapons that we used to arm ourselves with. I did not, however, find a GDO.

Once Ba'al had realized that we had escaped, he sent his army after us." Teal'c paused and collected his thoughts before continuing. "Daniel Jackson was the first to fall."

"Well, you know Daniel…" Jack's voice tried to be light, funny, the way that it was when he was dealing with the worst of circumstances; it fell flat. This was a death that Daniel would not be coming back from.

Teal'c's eyes went far away as he proceeded to talk of their escape.

-o-o-o-

The Stargate was twenty miles south, above the canyon that they currently found themselves in. The four, even injured, were making good time. And then they heard the first discharge of Glider weapons. It was close… too close, and shattered the overhang of the rock above their heads. Shards of fragile rock rained down on them, entering their bodies where wounds had been left open. It stung like shards of glass, and Vala let a small moan escape her lips, as they dove for the ground.

Daniel saw a small cavern just ahead of them, and he grabbed Vala's hand and went towards it, Teal'c and Carter firing back towards the glider that was chasing them. Once Daniel had made sure that Vala was okay in the cave, he stepped out to lay down cover for Carter and Teal'c.

They heard the engines of the other glider before they saw it. It shot through the sky, firing into the canyon. Carter and Teal'c started to make their way into another pocket of rock that was open in the canyon wall, when it happened.

Brown, black and tan rocks started to fall like it was raining. They slid from the sky and covered the opening where Vala was. She screamed, and reached out her hand towards Daniel, but it was too late. He had been covered in the falling debris.

There were more shots fired from the gliders and several more rock slides. Teal'c and Sam held up under their makeshift cover. There were more glider weapon shots, and even more brown rocky rain. After a short time, when the ground where they once were standing was covered in uneven shards of the canyon walls, the gliders left.

Teal'c stepped out of their shelter, and tentatively looked towards the sky. Once he had determined that the gliders were in fact gone, he and Carter made their way towards where Daniel had been standing, towards the cavern where Vala was.

They pushed and pulled away the rocks that were covering their friends. Teal'c, working on removing the rocks from where Daniel was standing, and Carter working at the entrance of the cavern.

Even as seasoned of a warrior that Teal'c was, he was unprepared for the state of Daniel's body when he found it. Sadness entered his heart, and he pushed it out just as quickly as it had entered. He would process his death later, later as he had to do with Colonel Mitchell. Teal'c pushed on, and started to help Carter free Vala.

Carter shot a look over her shoulder when she realized that Teal'c was standing beside her. She looked at Teal'c and nothing was said. It didn't need to be. Daniel was dead. Carter was able to control a shudder that threatened to overtake her body. Vala was still on the other side of this makeshift rock wall, and she was still alive. They could hear her, trying to control a hysteria that was saturating her body. Carter kept shouting out reassurances to her. And then a dark realization crossed Vala's being.

"Daniel!?" her voice was reaching hysterics. "Sam! Where's Daniel?"

Carter and Teal'c worked in silent unison, pulling away rock after rock. Carter took a hold of one that was slightly more than she should have handled, and a small cry escaped her as her shoulder gave way. It fell from her hands fell onto her foot. A sickening crunch followed. She bit her bottom lip to stifle a scream that was rising in her throat.

Teal'c stopped and looked at her. Carter nodded, and started to pull away the last few rocks that were still trapping Vala.

Teal'c had the foresight to cover the worst of Daniel's injuries before Vala was able to see him. Vala screamed, and ran to him. Tears were streaming from her eyes. The situation was starting to wear on her, her body was broke, and her mind was starting to follow.

Teal'c put his hand on Vala's shoulder. "Vala Mal Doran, we must leave. You need to help with Colonel Carter."

But Vala didn't hear him, all she saw was her beloved's body crushed by the rainstorm of rocks. Suddenly a furious determination crossed her face. She leaned over, and was able to find one of Daniel's battered hands. She brought it to her lips, kissed it briefly, and stood.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Vala said, more determination in her voice than her teammates had ever heard before.

The three of them stayed close to the sides of the canyon, always at attention, just in case. They were hoping that with the rockslides, the battered floor of the canyon, that Ba'al would be satisfied. That he would assume that they were in fact dead, and that it would be uneventful trip to the Stargate. However, as they had learned a very painful lesson, underestimating Ba'al was never a good thing.

Night was falling, and a chill was starting to become present in the air, a warning that it was going to become colder… much, much colder. An unnatural tiredness started to wear on their bodies. Carter was stumbling with every other step between her leg and her foot. Vala was also stumbling, the rage that she had been able to find inside of her, long gone by now. Even Teal'c was starting to feel weariness enter his body, his joints, his muscles, and his mind.

They found a deeper cave in the rock wall, and settled down for a rest. Although a fire was discussed, they didn't want to risk alerting Ba'al if he was still looking for them. They would all take shifts keeping watch, Teal'c going first. Carter and Teal'c both knew moving under the cover of night was best, their battered and bruised bodies damn near refusing to continue forward. They decided that they would start to continue on shortly before dawn. Over this terrain, and in their present condition, she figured that they would make it to the Stargate before nightfall the next night.

It did not take long of the complete ramifications of what had happened to them in the previous days to take its effect. Even without the warmth of a fire, exhaustion, both mentally and physically took its toll and they each in turn, found the quiet reprieve of unconsciousness.

It was a few hours before dawn when the three of them started on their way again. Stiff and sore, battered and broken, they started out on the journey that they knew would bring them home. Without the aid of either a radio of a GDO, they knew that they would have to gate to a friendly planet. King Arkhan… Maybourne's planet. They knew that they would be welcomed, and that Maybourne had a GDO.

It was just one last stop for them before they could go home.

-o-o-o-

"Rockslide?" Ms. Greenfield's voice was low. "Dr. Jackson died due to a rockslide?" disbelief touched the corners of her words.

Teal'c nodded towards her.

The thought of being crushed by rocks was unnerving to her. The idea, that they were able to make it out, to live up to the standards and the reputation that proceeded SG-1, and then to have it all end not by the hands of a formidable foe, but by being crushed to death in a shower of rocks…

The room was silent, as it had been more and more as this interview continued.

"Did Ba'al think that you were dead?" She asked, her voice more curious than accusatory.

"He did. Until we were spotted by the Stargate."

--

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Jack dropped his head into his hands. Listening to Teal'c tell the story of SG-1's last days where starting to dig under him. Why had he decided to sit there and listen? He could read it in the damned report.

No he couldn't.

He wasn't in charge of… _this_… anymore.

This… this was no longer his responsibility. He was retired now, he was off to sit on his dock, to cast a line into a pond that held a few fish, to lay in bed all day with his wife if he so chose too…

But instead of enjoying the sun of the somewhere warm where they chose to take their honeymoon, here he was… in a damned interrogation room, making sure that the best thing that even happened to Earth, one of his best friends, his brother, was saved.

He knew that Carter was a fighter. It was one of the many things that he loved about her. He closed his eyes, he knew where Teal'c's account would take them next. But as morbid as the story was, as it would tear out his heart and show it to him, _he had to know. _He had to know what happened to her. How she had died.

Jack looked up at Diane Greenfield first, and then at Teal'c. For someone who didn't know him any better, he was the same as he always was. But Jack could see the battle raging behind his eyes. He could catch the subtle hitches his voice made, the way his face contorted with his words.

Jack could tell that Teal'c was in pain too. That he was suffering with the retelling of this story.

She spoke. "You were able to make it to the Stargate?"

"It took us longer than Colonel Carter had expected. The damage to her foot was quite severe, and her body was fighting off an infection brought on by her open wounds."

"So, Vala Mal Doran was physically fine at this point?"

"She had suffered some injuries at the hands of Ba'al, but she was in a better condition than Colonel Carter."

"So the other alien was fine as well." It was a statement not a question. Her voice lost the hard edge that it had carried previously. It was more like she was starting to rethink her first impression, her first assumption, but needed to say it never the less.

Jack sighed audibly.

"It took us one day to climb our way out of the canyon." Teal'c started. As much as anyone, he wanted this over. Reliving this… the murder of his friends, the fact that he had failed, was taking its toll on him as well. "When we did reach the ground above, there were dead bodies strewn around the ground all around us. They were in varying states of decay. We also realized that this planet is where Ba'al was making his Kull Warriors."

-o-o-o-

As they were reaching the top of the canyon, the air became thick with the smell of death. Around them they could see buildings that resembled Earth's early industrial age. They looked around them, and the factories that they could see where spewing out thick black smoke.

"I remember this smell." Vala said, turning her nose up, as much as she could in its broken state.

"It smells like the small outpost that we found." Carter uttered, as she looked at Teal'c. He knew what she was thinking.

SG-1 had lost so much… but here they were standing so close to the factories where Ba'al was producing his version of the Kull Warriors. They couldn't just stand there and let that happen. They couldn't just gate out, and wait for reinforcements. Who knew if they would have this opportunity again? As General Landry said, this may be the only chance they had. They still had not reported back from that mission.

The three of them stopped and looked at each other. And they silently made their decision. It had been decided that they were going to try and take out as many of Ba'al's factories as possible.

They started to make their way towards the outlying factories, pushing themselves forward past the sights and smells of the death and decay around them.

"What happened here?" Vala said, her words echoing the thoughts of what was left of SG-1.

Sam felt impotent, she had no equipment to tell how these people died. If it was safe for them to even breath the air. However, walking past a pile of bodies lying in a shallow grave, their questions were answered. They noticed staff weapon wounds… and at least now they had their answers.

There were various out buildings surrounding them. Clusters of apartment buildings, and row homes. They were all abandoned. They chose one that would serve as shelter for the night. The three of them discussed strategy and a plan was not only formed but formalized as well. They raided the neighboring buildings, looking for anything that was left behind by the inhabitants of this world. They found bottles of alcohol, and black powder, as well as pipes, and rags. They also found some simple first aid supplies and tried to clean their wounds as well as they could.

Long after both Carter and Vala were to be sleeping, she came and sat next to him. Nothing was said for the longest time, but finally she spoke.

"Tomorrow is it." Sam said. Her voice was full of resignation. "I probably won't make it back to Earth with the two of you."

"Colonel Carter, I made a promise to O'Neill. I intend to keep it."

"Teal'c, let's face the facts. I am a liability. I am not going to be able to keep up with you two."

"We do not leave our people behind."

Sam shook her head. "It's not leaving me behind if I am dead."

Teal'c turned his head so he could look at her. Her eyes were wet, but they were not spilling over.

"Colonel Carter, you are a formidable warrior. I do not doubt your strength to persevere. I find it disheartening that you do."

They sat there, silence enveloping them. Sam laid her head on his shoulder. "Tell Jack something for me. If I don't… tell him… that this was my idea. Tell him, that I died doing what I knew had to be done." She closed her eyes, and found the reprieve of sleep.

Teal'c tentatively brought his hand to her hair, and started to stroke it, brushing it back and out of her face. He knew that she was right… the chances of her coming out of this unscathed were slim, but they had faced odds not in their favor before, and survived. He prayed they would this time as well.

The next morning they stood outside, watching the sun rise. This was going to be their last stand.

And that was something that they all knew.

--

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

"Even in the condition that you were in, even with your lack of Tretonin, and the fact that the three of you were hurt, you decided to try and take out some of Ba'al's manufacturing facilities?"

"Our mission was not complete."

"Who would blame you for coming back?"

Teal'c mulled this over before he answered. He was reeling in the anger that was continuing to build within him. "The IOA."

Nothing was said for the longest time. Hank Landry, who had been watching the video feed, felt ashamed that a small smile was growing on his face, but he couldn't help himself. He knew that Teal'c words were the truth, and that they stung deep. It most certainly notched the tension up in the room. He wasn't exactly sure how that was going to help Teal'c, but he also knew that at least the last surviving member of SG-1 wasn't just going to roll over and take it.

"Please continue." Agent Greenfield finally said.

Teal'c looked again to the spot on the wall that had become his focus point; the small, barely noticeable smudge that had become the nucleus of his being. It gave him the strength to retell the story. He opened his mouth to speak.

-o-o-o-

The three of them started on their way to the heart of Ba'al's manufacturing facilities. They knew that once they started their onslaught of destruction, that their time would be limited. The idea was to hit them hard, hit them fast, and then make their way to the Stargate. They thought that they might have a fighting chance… they had not seen any gliders or patrols since climbing out of the canyon; but they didn't want to press their luck either.

_--_

_The night of rest made Carter even stiffer and she had to plan her actions deliberately. She was not going to let her injures slow them down, but she was also becoming exhausted quickly. She had dealt with pain, but this was something that she was not used too. A burning ache was clouding her vision. She didn't know how much help she was going to be, but she also knew that she couldn't just leave them… Teal'c wouldn't let her. She was going to slow down their progress, and for a split second regret filled her consciousness. But as quickly as it had come, she filed it away, and pushed it out of her soldier's mind._

_After all, she was one of the few that knew what was really threatening Earth. _

_After all, she was a solider first and foremost._

_As the threesome started to make their way to the heart of the manufacturing complex, she briefly wondered what her life would have been like if she had married Pete. It was a bizarre thought at first, but she let her mind wander never the less. She knew that she would be here._

_She wouldn't have gone to Atlantis._

_She wouldn't have Jack._

_She wasn't going to die on this god-forsaken planet._

_Carter bit down on her lip, and pushed herself to keep up with Teal'c and Vala. She __**would not**__ be a liability to them. That was all there was to it._

--

They placed the odd collection of weaponry that they had been able to collect together in front of them. Vala went to start a small fire, as Carter started to push the strips of cloth into the bottles of flammable liquid. Teal'c poured a bit of water, and started to shove the pieces of a plastic like substance into the end of the metal bars that he had found. He placed the closed ends in the fire that Vala had built. Once that was done, he started to help Carter and Vala with the bottles.

He started on the far end of the row of buildings, and carried with him a lit stick. Vala took the middle and Carter took the end. One by one, the Molotov cocktails were lit and thrown. One by one, the remaining members of SG-1 ran towards the Stargate.

When they were about 2 clicks away, Teal'c's makeshift cannons could be heard going off. Vala smiled at him, and they pushed forward, harder and faster. They had no idea how long they had until Ba'al was going to be notified. They knew he was still on the planet, they had not seen nor heard his ship take off.

The trip to the Stargate was uneventful. The evil thought that maybe they hadn't been detected, and then an even graver one of that maybe the factories that they had destroyed, or tried too, had not been in use.

They saw the gate. Small sighs were released as they approached it. Unlike the majority of the flat grassy land that they had covered getting there, there were trees surrounding the DHD and there was a well-worn path to the Stargate itself.

They hovered there, and Vala started to push the symbols that would take them from this place, the symbols that would eventually take them home. The rush of excitement and of victory dulled their other senses. Teal'c heard it too late.

"Kree!" They heard the Jaffa speak, as he powered up his staff weapon. "My Lord. I have found the escaped prisoners. They were at the chappa'i as you said."

Everyone stopped for a second. Vala, who had never picked up her head, pushed another symbol.

"Get to the gate." Vala hissed under her breath. She pushed another symbol.

Teal'c, all the while making eye contact with the Jaffa that had his staff weapon pointed at them, placed his hand on Carter's back and pushed her down the path towards the Stargate.

He looked at her, "I am going back for Vala Mal Doran." Carter nodded, and then they heard the Stargate engage.

Teal'c started back down the path, when he heard the staff weapon discharge.

"Go!" Vala yelled at him.

Teal'c turned back towards the Stargate, as another staff blast filled the air around them, and then he heard a scream emanating from deep within Vala.

"SAM!!"

Teal'c followed her gaze, and saw Carter lying on her back, just inches away from the open wormhole. She slowly turned onto all fours, and crawled through the gate.

The Jaffa turned, his weapon aimed at the Teal'c and Vala.

Running on nothing but pure adrenaline, and the fact that refused to die on this planet, at the hands of Ba'al, Teal'c pushed on, moving so that he stood between the Jaffa and Vala.

The Jaffa, stunned that Teal'c kept moving, stood there dumbstruck for a moment too long, and found himself on his backside before he could think about firing. The Jaffa saw Teal'c just before he entered the event horizon and fired after them.

When they stepped through to Maybourne's planet, they saw Carter lying just beyond the entrance to the gate. Teal'c and Vala both ran to her, Teal'c carefully cradling her against him.

"Vala Mal Doran, go to the village and acquire the GDO."

She nodded, and started off, while Teal'c sat there, a dying Sam Carter in his arms.

Carter coughed, and bright red blood splattered the both of them. "Go!" She yelled at him. "Get out of here!"

"Colonel Carter, I will not leave you."

"Teal'c! Get out of here! Get to the Stargate and get home!"

"We are safe Colonel Carter. We have made it off of Ba'al's planet."

A small sad smile crossed her lips. "We did?"

"Indeed."

She started to cough again, and this time when the fit had subsided, her eyes were growing cloudy.

"Do not give up Colonel Carter. We are almost home."

-o-o-o-

"What made you decide to dial the planet that Harry Maybourne was on?" Agent Greenfield asked. She didn't want to interrupt him again however, she knew what happened on the planet. She wanted to give General O'Neill a chance to excuse himself.

"Harry Maybourne had a GDO in his possession." Teal'c answered her.

"We have several allies that have GDOs."

"Colonel Carter, Vala Mal Doran and myself knew the address. We could all complete the dialing sequence."

"General?" She asked him.

Jack, who had spent most of this time with his eyes raptly at attention on his friend, barely acknowledged that he had heard her.

"Maybourne eh?" his voice was tight. He was trying to make a joke, to cover his emotions with humor; his automatic defense mechanism.

"The weapons blast that the Jaffa had fired into the wormhole hit Colonel Carter." Teal'c stopped. He was no longer looking at his focus point, but looking directly at Jack. His eyes were full of pain and regret. "I am sorry O'Neill."

Silence engulfed the room. Teal'c turned his attention back to the smudge on the wall before he continued. "The healers of Harry Maybourne's world tried to save Colonel Carter."

"But she was already gone." Jack said softy.

Teal'c nodded his head towards him. "Indeed O'Neill."

The IOA agent blinked hard to hold back the tears that were threatening to escape.

"Harry Maybourne retrieved their GDO. Vala Mal Doran and I were able to make it back to Stargate Command."

He turned his head and looked at Diane Greenfield, "That is why I am responsible. If I had not eluded capture, Colonel Mitchell would be alive. If I had been with Vala Mal Doran, Daniel Jackson would still be alive. If I had not gone back for Vala Mal Doran, I would have been able to save Colonel Carter."

"Are we done here?" Jack asked.

"We are." She quietly said. "Teal'c… I am sorry I ever doubted you, or your service to the SGC and the people of Earth."

--

Jack walked into his cabin, and went straight to the refrigerator. He grabbed a beer, walked into the living room, collapsing on the couch.

He sat down and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed his voice mail.

"You are reviewing messages. You have no new messages, and one old message. To listen to your messages press three. To change your greet…"

Jack pressed three.

"Hey Jack, it's me." Sam's voice came through his phone. "Listen, I know we said that we wouldn't do this, but I have a bad feeling about this. And I hate the fact that I don't have another idea." He heard her take a breath, "So. Needless to say, I will not be home tonight for dinner." He heard her laugh. "Just try to eat something a bit better than that all meat pizza ok? I want my husband around for as long as possible. I love you. I _will _see you soon."

"End of message. To save it in the archives, press one. To listen to the message again, press three. To delete this…"

Jack pressed three.

--

One week after the last memorial service, Teal'c approached General Landry and asked to be excused of his duties. He wanted to return to Dakara. General Landry half-heartedly tried to get him to stay.

"You will always have a place here." General Landry told him as the wormhole engaged.

Teal'c nodded towards the General, and stepped through to Dakara.

--

TBC


	9. Epilogue

A gray-haired teacher sat at a small fire. The children he was in charge of instructing were all talking at once, creating a vibrant hum around him. He looked around at them. They were all so innocent, and free.

They did not carry his burdens, nor did they have to carry the weight of regrets. They did not have the pain, the pain that their grandparents and even some of their parents had.

They were free!

A small squabble was bubbling up from their ranks; the children shouting out different ideas on which their teacher should talk to them about today. Soon the bickering started to turn the tides into an all out argument.

"Silence." He said. The children grew quiet around him. He motioned toward the far side of the fire, to a young boy, who had not spoken at all. "Which story do you wish to hear?"

The child sat, reflective for a moment before he responded. "The story of how Major Carter blew up the sun."

Teal'c smiled at the boy, and started his tale.

--

Well… that's it.

I just wanted to say **THANK YOU. **

Thank you to my beta Slidell, who always puts up with more than she should. Hallowed is the Slidell.

And a very special thank you to all of you who took the time to read this. Thanks for reading, thanks for subscribing, and a very special thank you to all of you that took the time to review.


End file.
